Release the Kraken Slot Review

09/12/2020 | Categories: Pragmatic Play Slots | Published by: Joe | Last updated: 05/01/2024

For some reason, in recent years, slot developers decided that Cthulhu-like creatures are in style and began churning out titles featuring such beasts. If you think this is a joke, then you haven’t played NetEnt’s Ocean’s Treasure, Thunderkick’s Beat the Beast: Kraken’s Lair, and other similar games. Given that Pragmatic Play has its sights set on rolling with the industry’s best, it didn’t want to fall short, and, at the start of 2020, released the Kraken on online casinos everywhere. A decade after Liam Neeson uttered the notorious meme-phrase in the remake of the Clash of the Titans, Pragmatic decided to capitalize on it and take spinners underwater on a quest for a prize of x10,000 their bet.

Theme & Design

The theme here clearly revolves around the legendary sea monster, which also serves as this slot’s main character. Thanks to Sponge Bob-like graphics, and some Finding Nemo character design, this is not a very scary game, despite featuring the gigantic cephalopod-like beast from Scandinavian folklore.

In the base game, the reels spin at the bottom of a colorful ocean floor, complete with corals, different kinds of aquatic vegetation, and a cliché sunken ship in the background. Once you enter the Free Spins Round, you go above water and watch the Kraken do battle with a ship during a blazing storm. The game is an explosion of color. Its vibrancy helps in maintaining an upbeat atmosphere with the assistance of the low-key soundtrack and cool sound effects as you spin.

The reels are in the middle of your screen, and wooden planks frame them as they rotate in front of a semi-transparent background. The button configuration is the standard Pragmatic one, with the spin button on your right, bet adjusters on each side of it, and the auto one below it. On the left side of your screen, you have your settings, info, and mute buttons. The win, credit, and bet information are in the middle.

Specs & Gameplay

The game plays out on a five-reel, four-row grid, and it features twenty paylines when you are inside the base game. The number of paylines doubles once you enter the Free Spins Round. Wins happen when you hit three to five matching symbols, left to right, on an active line. Release the Kraken is a medium to high variance title, which has an RTP of 96.5%, which may be lower at some operators. Its max exposure is a whopping x10,000, and it accepts bet sizes that range from $0.2 to $100.

The low-paying symbols in the game are simple letters A, K, Q, and J, and they pay x2 to x4 for five of a kind. The high-paying symbols are a yellow and green fish, a smiling bluefish, a baby turtle, and a grinning shark. These pay from x5 to x12.5 for five a kind, while the game’s logo is also a high-paying symbol, and it is the most valuable of the bunch providing wins that are worth x25 for five of a kind.

The Wild is a big bubble with the words wild on it, and it also pays x25 for five of a kind.

The Bonus symbols in this game are the Bonus Ship symbol, the Free Spins Scatter, and the Chest Bonus symbol. You will activate a bonus feature by landing either the Bonus Ship symbol on reels one and three or the Free Spins Scatter/Chest Bonus symbol on reel five.

Bonus Features

While inside the base game, at any time, three tentacles may appear, waving a Pick Me sign. You pick one, and it activates a bonus feature. In the Kraken Locking Wilds feature, you open three chests, and get more Kraken Wilds, continue spinning, or get an x2 multiplier. The Collect symbol ends the round, and the game pays out your winnings. The Colossal Kraken Wilds feature adds a 3×3 Wild on the reels, and the Infectious Kraken Wilds turn adjacent symbols into Wilds.

There is a Sunken Treasure Bonus game, which you trigger when you land a Bonus Ship symbol on reels one and three, along with a Chest Bonus symbol on reel five. It will give you three chests, and each may award a money prize. You get to open chests until you stumble upon the Collect symbol, which ends this round.

At last, there’s the Roaming Kraken Free Spins Round. You activate it by landing Bonus Ship symbols on reels one and three along with the Free Spins Scatter on reel five. Once you do, you’ll get ten chests to open. Each one may provide one, two, or three free spins or the Collect symbol. You select chests and accumulate free spins until you unknowingly select Collect. Once you do, your accumulation of free spins is complete, and you enter the Free Spins round. If you hit a Kraken Wild inside this feature, it will increase your multiplier by x1, and it will turn into a roaming Wild. You cannot retrigger this feature.